Will Atlanta Hawks Trade Kent Bazemore to the Milwaukee Bucks?

Despite a flurry of offseason moves so far, it seems the Atlanta Hawks are far from finished in the 2018 offseason.

Multiple trades and free agent acquisitions have completely transformed the Atlanta Hawks roster, as only 7 players remain from last year’s 24-win Atlanta Hawks team.

Perhaps that number will dwindle to 6 very soon as reporting from Kelly Iko of RocketsWire via USA Today listed Kent Bazemore as a possible trade target by the Houston Rockets and – more interestingly – the Milwaukee Bucks.

We’ve previously reported on two potential Bazemore deals involving those Rockets and the New Orleans Pelicans, but the Milwaukee Bucks make for an interesting trade partner in myriad ways.

For one thing, Bazemore has experience with new Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer, who helped turn Baze’s career around as a supremely valuable three-and-D wing. Though Baze’s large contract certainly looked terrible at the time it was signed and during the 2016-17 season, Bazemore was one of the Hawks’ most consistent players last year, and his intense effort and energy on defense was laudable.

The Bucks, who are clearly in win-now mode with Giannis Antetokounmpo on the roster, would love to be free of some of their more heinous contracts in any Bazemore deal, so let’s outline a potential trade between the Hawks and Bucks.

The only future first round pick obligation the Bucks have is to the Phoenix Suns from the Eric Bledsoe trade, so the Hawks could angle for a pick once that one conveys or push for a first rounder in the 2022 NBA Draft – which would allow the Hawks to select from a pool of players that includes high-schoolers and collegiate athletes.

For the Hawks, both Matthew Dellavedova and John Henson would likely be waived, although Henson might make for a solid backup or starting center if Dewayne Dedmon is traded away. Still though, neither of these players matches the time line that the Atlanta Hawks are working with.

The Bucks, with Bazemore in the fold, should have a fearsome starting lineup that will be an absolutely suffocating defensive unit that is suited to playing expert small-ball defense in the playoffs. The lineup would look something like this:

Giannis Antetokounmpo – C
Khris Middleton – PF
Tony Snell – SF
Kent Bazemore – SG
Eric Bledose – PG

Looks pretty dope, right? Sure, Middleton and Snell are playing up a position, but I don’t think either of them will complain with another talented wing defender around in the form of Baze.

The Bucks also have Malcolm Brogdon, who could slot in at either guard spot to spell either Baze or Bledsoe. Previously, Giannis was almost always playing alongside a traditional big man, which stunts his all-around game by a large margin – not allowing him the space he needs to Eurostep his way past three or four defenders.

We’ve previously outlined a deal involving Baze and the Bucks that would send Delly, D.J. Wilson, Sterling Brown and a first-rounder to the Hawks for Baze, but that seems like too high a price – as the Bucks would lose significant depth at more important positions.

Henson, Delly and a pick seems like a solid middle ground, so we’ll have to see if a Kent Bazemore deal gets done anytime soon for the Atlanta Hawks.